Saying Goodbye Is Hard
by l OmegaInfinity l
Summary: After a mission in the Tundra Express, Lilith asks Gaige to check in on Tina. Gaige expected to find an overactive demolition's expert. What she finds instead is... much more heartbreaking. Three-shot.
1. Part 1

**A/n: You ever have an idea that just will not leave you alone until you sit down and put it on paper?**

**Yeah, this is one of those.**

* * *

**Saying Goodbye Is Hard**

"Of all the wonders that I have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear. Seeing death, a necessary end, will come when it will-"

_BOOM!_

The psycho exploded into a cloud of blood as a dozen mini-rockets ripped through him. The momentum of his mad running carried a few large pieces of flesh forward, splattering a the ground.

Just a few steps away from the mangled gore that had once been human being stood a girl, clad in a blue vest and a red skirt. Her fiery orange hair was tied up in twin pigtails. She wore a pair of goggles on her forehead, on her cheek, a band-aid.

With a swift jerk of her mechanical arm, she pumped a new round into her Torgue shotgun, its barrel still smoking. She stared down at the red smear on the ground, at the shattered bones scattered across the landscape, at the murder she had just committed…

…and let out a groan of relief.

"Finally, sweet silence! Jeez, where do these guys come up with this stuff?"

Turning on her heel, Gaige walked at a relaxed pace through the carnage. Bodies lay strewn in various states of dismemberment, some on fire, some corroded, some simply blown apart. As Gaige passed them and the massive machinery they had moments ago been working on, she tapped her ECHO-device.

"Hey, Lilith." She waited a few seconds. "Hello, is anyone there? Axton? Mordecai?" A few more moments of silence. She leaned against the side of a rusted crane. "Oh, come on, someone's gotta-"

"I WILL STRANGLE THE TALK BOX WITH MY MIND!"

The sudden screaming in her ear made Gaige jump, so bad that she accidentally pulled the trigger. The shot bounced off the ground, zoning in on a single solitary rakk gliding in the distance. The poor thing was decimated in an instant.

The ringing in her ears fading, an angered Gaige yelled back into the ECHO. "Dammit Krieg, get of the ECHO right now! Better yet, find Lilith and put her on!"

"THE FIRES OF VENUS WILL IMPLODE, AND DANCE WITH THE SOULS OF THE-"

_Wump!_

A familiar distorting sound came across the airwaves as Krieg's ramblings faded into a quickly quieting yell of shock. A new voice came on the ECHO.

"I really gotta keep that door locked… yes, hello? Gaige, you still there?"

Gaige sighed in relief. "Yes, I'm still here, Lilith. Just thought I'd check in and give you the good news."

"Oh? And what news is that?"

Gaige smiled to herself in self-satisfaction. "Oh, I just thought you'd want to know that I just finished clearing out Mount Molehill Mine, along with Meltwater Crossing and Ripoff station before it. Tundra Express is officially bandit free."

"Really? What about Buzzard Academy?"

"Empty as Oasis. Better yet, there's even a few untouched buzzards left, just waiting for new pilots."

"Whoa. You don't mess around kid." Lilith sounded genuinely impressed, much to Gaige's delight. "I just heard back from Brick and Salvador. They cleared out the Fridge just a little while ago. At this rate, we should have the Frozen Wastes cleared by the end of the week."

Gaige's smile widened. Ever since the Vault Hunters had taken down Handsome Jack, they had all been working their butts off to try and make Pandora at least a little bit safer. Step one had seemed simple: deal with the bandits. Lilith, in the hopes of avoiding more bloodshed, attempted to negotiate with the various bandit clans.

There was a lot of shooting that day.

After that, the Vault hunters started Plan B: full on extermination. Things had been going surprisingly well. Thanks to a deal with the Zafords (apparently being the only bandit clan that actually wanted to talk _before_ shooting) the Highlands were a complete safezone, save for the occasional stalker attack. Thanks to Ellie's one woman war against the Hodunks (with a little help, of course), the Dust was close to clear. Maya and Zero were in Sawtooth Cauldron, sniping and blasting any bandits that came near them. Axton was in Sanctuary, doing his best to fill Roland's shoes in training the Crimson Raiders. Brick and Salvador were working together to clear the rats out of the Fridge, while Lilith and Mordecai were doing their best to coördinate everyone. And Krieg…

Gaige didn't want to know what Krieg did. She _really_ didn't want to know.

There was still a lot of work to do, but at the moment… Gaige was starting to think she could call Pandora home. Y'know, and be happy about it.

Gaige spoke into her ECHO. "So, I did good, huh?"

Lilith chuckled a bit at her smart-alecky tone. "You did great, kid. I'll send a battalion of Raiders to the Tundra tomorrow morning, see if we can get Buzzard Academy up and running for the good guys."

Gaige fist pumped he metal arm. "Awesome! I'm gonna get to a fast-travel station and warp home. I could really use a shower…"

"Actually!" Lilith perked up, rather quickly. "Before you come back to Sanctuary, could you do me a quick favor?"

Gaige gained a puzzled look. "Uh, I guess? What do you need?"

"Well," Lilith started, a little awkwardly. "Since you're in the area… could you check in on Tina?"

Gaige blinked. She looked up at the star studded sky, at the giant Hyperion satellite in front of Pandora's enormous moon. The sun had set hours ago. "I could, but, she's probably asleep."

"I know, but… could you just check? Just see if she's okay?"

Gaige straightened up, standing away from the wall she'd been braced against. "I can. Any reason why she wouldn't be okay?"

"I…" Lilith hesitated. "I've just been a little worried about her ever since…"

She didn't have to finish. Gaige may not have Roland that well, but she had seen how torn up Lilith, Brick and Mordecai had been when he died. And unlike the others, she had seen how hard it had hit Tiny Tina, too. While the they had worked over that Hyperion spy a few weeks back, Gaige had decided to take a break and wandered upstairs, just in time to hear Tina's breakdown at the B&amp;B table.

Gaige shook her head of the memory. "But I though you guys settled that a while ago. Y'know, the Bunkers and Badasses game, the statue…?"

"Yeah, but… Tina's not exactly the most… _stable_ person. I'd like to think that she's okay, but I'd feel better knowing for sure."

Gaige pursed her lips. "If you're that worried, why didn't you have her move to Sanctuary?"

Lilith gave a sad sigh. "I tried, but Tina wouldn't budge. She wants to stay in that workshop of hers." She gave a little huff of impatience. "Look, just… I'll make a mission out of it if you want, but I'd really need to know if she's okay."

Gaige shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Lilith was starting to sound desperate, and saying she'd make a mission out of something was as close to 'please' as she'd ever get. "You don't need to do that." Gaige finally said. "I'll go check on the little monster, free of charge."

Now Lilith gave a sigh of relief, however small if might ave been. "Thanks, kid. I appreciate it."

Gaige smirked slightly. "Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on me. I'll call you back as soon as I'm done." She almost cut the signal, before yelling, "And tell Krieg that if he eats my cupcakes again, I'm gonna to shove a grenade up his ass!"

Before Lilith could respond, Gaige cut the connection. With a little hop to he step, she walked out of the mine, stepping gingerly over a headless rat in the process.

It wasn't far from the mine to Tina's Workshop. Just hang a left and, literally, you were right there. Gaige had passed by the there earlier on her way from Meltwater Crossing, and it looked the same as it did then: the massive slab of metal that acted as a gate was shut, and no light came from the space above it. If Gaige didn't know better, she'd of thought it was abandoned.

"Hello?" Gaige called over the gate. "Tina? You awake?"

Her only answer was the quiet echo of her own voice. Gaige waited for about a minute before calling again, to no avail.

"Great." She mumbled to herself. She gave the gate a quick onceover. The thing must have weighed a ton, given how it had indented the ground beneath it after god-knows-how-long of use. Lifting it wasn't an option. Looking at the patchwork gate, she figured that she might be able to climb it.

Gaige had a better idea.

With a wave of her mechanical arm, a form digi-strucked in front of her; a floating legless torso of metal and claws, a single massive eye taking up what passed for a head.

The machine, who Gaige had affectionately named Deathtrap, quickly hunkered into attack position, ready to launch forward and tear apart the first hostile it saw. However, when it realized there were no enemies around, it swiveled around towards Gaige, cocking its head in confusion.

Gaige gave her kill-bot a grin. "Hey, DT. Think you can give me a quick lift up?"

Deathtrap blinked its single eye and turned towards the gate, then towards the space above it. It looked at Gaige and gave a mechanical warble of affirmation. With practiced ease, the massive mech gingerly grabbed Gaige's arms with its claws and lifted her onto its shoulder. Getting comfortable, Gaige wrapped her metal arm around its neck as she settled into her familiar perch on Deathtrap's arm.

"Okay, boy," she said. "Up we go."

Deathtrap rose up and over the gate, just barely squeezing through the opening. As it came back down to ground level, Gaige took in the sight of Tina's Workshop.

It looked… dead. Gaige frowned as she looked around. In the past, whenever Gaige had been to the Tundra, the workshop had always been lit up with a orange glow, a small spot of warmth in the bleak cold. Now… everything was dark. No fires, no lights; even Mr. Sparks, Tina's generator, was silent.

Slightly unnerved, Gaige leapt down to the ground. "Tina?" She called out as she stepped forward. "Are you all-?"

_Snap!_

Gaige looked down as her foot caught on something. A thin piece of thread, stretched taunt across the width of the entrance, broke on contact. A sharp crack from above caused her to look up, towards the deactivated mines that stuck out of the ice that formed the cave walls.

At least, she hoped they were deactivated.

Because, somehow, breaking that thread had caused a crack in the ice. A crack that just so happened to go right through where a single mine was held in place…

Right above her head.

Gaige didn't even have time to yell, or even move, as the giant explosive dropped from the ceiling. She just threw her arms over her head and prayed that her shield would hold.

_Clunk!_

The dull thud of metal hitting metal jarred her from defensive stance. She peeked through her arms, and was greeted by the surprising sight of Deathtrap holding the mine in its outstretched claws. Apparently the mine _was_ deactivated, judging by the lack of flashing red lights over its surface. Though given how Deathtrap was struggling to stay aloft under its weight, Gaige figured she still would have been in a good amount of pain had that mine hit her.

"Thanks for the save, babe." She breathed as the mech lowered the mine gingerly to the floor. She looked towards the workshop, the relatively short distance suddenly seeming a lot farther than before. "Uh… don't suppose you could carry me to the door?"

Deathtrap blinked again, before circling behind Gaige. It gripped under her arms and lifted, just enough that she floated about a foot off the ground. They glided silently across the cavern, Gaige keeping a sharp eye on the ground just in case there were any more _surprises_ she might have tripped over had she walked the distance.

Finally at the door, Deathtrap set Gaige back on her feet. "Thanks again, boy," she said, before giving another wave of her artificial appendage. "Take a nap." Deathtrap gave a metallic whine as it faded into data, resting until she needed its help again.

With that done, Gaige turned to the workshop door, raising her good hand to knock. _Don't know what Lilith is so worried._ She thought to herself. _Little nutball's probably asleep by no-_

Gaige froze mid knock.

_No… no way…_

She lowered her arm and pressed her ear against the door, hoping she had misheard.

"_uh…sniff, sniff… uh, ahh… sniff…"_

Gaige's stomach twisted into a cold knot as she realized what she was hearing.

Tiny Tina was… crying…

Gaige had a moment's hesitation, just a moment, where she tried to think of the correct thing to do. Another muffled sob ended that.

Gaige bent down, running her hands along the bottom of the door. The instant she found a hand-hold, she pulled with a sharp jerk.

The door squealed and groaned as it rolled up, opening into a dark void. There was no source of light; even the ammo supplier had been turned off. It took Gaige's eyes a moment to adjust to the near-total darkness. Once she could see again, she looked to her right…

And promptly felt her heart shatter.

Tiny Tina lay curled up on her tiny mattress, her arms wrapped around her legs like she was afraid she might lose them. She lay exposed; her sheets and covers a crumpled mess on the ground. The little Psycho mask she always wore was nowhere to be found, allowing her hair to hang loosely over her clenched-shut eyes. Her only sleepwear was an oversized grey t-shirt, the symbol of the Crimson Raiders on its back. But the worst part was, rather than her pillow, Tina's head rested on the pink-framed picture that normally sat at her bedside.

Surprisingly, Gaige's entrance had not woken the distraught girl. She just cried softly through closed eyes, giving little gasps of air every few seconds.

Now Gaige was not an emotional person. Far from it; even before coming to Pandora, her most common emotions were usually frustration, anger, and occasional bouts of self-pity. Her time on the crap-sack planet had done little to help matters. Not to say she was never happy; a few hours fiddling with her machines or relaxing with the other Vault Hunters at Moxxi's always brought a smile to her face. But other than that? Machines made more sense than people, at least to Gaige.

But even as emotionally stunted and socially inept as she was, even Gaige knew when something wasn't right. Jack mutating and killing Bloodwing, his slag experiments… what he did to his own daughter. That last one really struck a nerve with Gaige, given how much her own father had sacrificed to keep her safe. And then to see that… _monster_ try and use the same sentiment as an excuse for the torture he subjected Angel to…

All of it had filled Gaige with both a deep sorrow and a white-hot rage at the time. All of it was twisted, horrifying, infuriating.

But out of all of it, of all the horrors and heartbreaking things Gaige had seen on Pandora, none of it compared to this. That was all horrible. The sight of Tiny Tina, the happiest, craziest, most energetic little girl on the planet, crying?

That was just _wrong_.

Gaige was suddenly aware that she was right next to the bed. Funny, she didn't even remember moving. Instinctively, she reached out with her left hand, but froze inches from Tina's shoulder. She pulled her arm back, giving a long look at the cold metal, the skeletal limb ending in almost talons. She looked back at Tina, flinching as the girl sucked in another pained breath. Swallowing, Gaige looked lifted her other hand, the flesh one. Carefully, she placed it on the girl's shoulder, shaking gently.

"Tina? Hey, Tina, wake-"

_Pow!_

Gaige suddenly found herself staring up at the ceiling. She felt a sharp stinging on her nose, joined by a trickle of something warm, flowing down her cheek.

_What the hell just happened?_

The air was forced from her lungs as something heavy slammed onto her stomach. She tilted her head up to see what was happening.

Her blood ran cold.

Tina was straddling her stomach, her arm pulled back to deliver another blow. Her lips were pulled back in an almost animalistic snarl, her hair sticking up at wild angles. But what affected Gaige the most were her eyes.

Those deep blue eyes, usually so full of life and wonder, were now dim and bloodshot. In them, Gaige saw sadness, anger, but above all…

Fear.

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**A/n: Yeah, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I felt it was running long. The next and final part will be put up… when I find time. In the meantime, let me know what you thought, and tell me if you want me to continue.**

**See you when I see you!**


	2. Part 2

**Saying Goodbye Is Hard: Part 2**

Tina launched her fist forward, aimed between Gaige's eyes. On reflex, Gaige lifted her mechanical arm up.

_Clang!_

The dull sound echoed throughout the workshop. If Tina felt any pain from hitting the unforgiving metal, she didn't show it as she pulled her arm back, and fired off with her other hand. Another impact. When she tried for a third strike, however, Gaige's metal hand caught her by her wrist.

"Tina!" She yelled in desperation. When Tina's only answer was to attack with her free arm, Gaige caught that too. "Tina, stop it!"

Instantly, Tina started struggling. All trace of anger in her eyes vanished replaced full on with fear. "Lemme go! LemmegoLemmegoLemmego!" She screeched, fresh tears streaming down her face.

"Tina!" Gaige yelled back, struggling to keep a grip on the wiggling teen. She clenched her teeth as Tina rammed her knee repeatedly into Gaige's stomach. _Jesus, how is someone so small so damn strong! _"Tina, will you just calm dow-OH!"

Gaige's grip slacked as Tina kneed her right between the legs. A deep, sharp pain spread up through her stomach, making her eyes cross.

The sudden release made Tina throw herself back. Flying back by her own force, her legs caught on her bed, making her fall backwards. A painful crack echoed throughout the garage as her head bounced off wall behind the bed.

Gaige missed all this, however. She was too busy clutching at the space between her legs, clenching her eyes to keep tears of pain from leaking out.

_Whoever says getting hit there doesn't hurt girls is an idiot!_ She thought as she rolled onto her side, waiting for the pain to subside.

Eventually, (how long, she had no idea; it felt like an eternity) the pain ebbed away, replaced with an almost numb-like feeling. Once she was confident she could feel her legs, Gaige pushed herself up. Instinct took over as she replayed the last few minutes in her head, ready to chew Tina out. "Tina! What the hell do…"

The words died in her throat.

Tina was curled up in a tight little ball in the corner of he bed, holding her head in pain. Her eyes were shut again, though obviously more from fear then from pain.

Gaige let out a sad sigh, feeling utterly lost. She wanted to help the kid, she really did, but didn't know how make her feel better. Hell, she didn't even know why Tina was acting like a little… well… a little Psycho!

With no better idea, Gaige decided to just try talking. At least the kid was awake to hear her now. She pushed herself up until she was kneeling beside the bed. "Hey, Tina?" Tina flinched at her voice, drawing herself even closer to herself. _She looks so small._ Gaige thought. "C'mon kid, talk to me." No reaction. Frustrated, Gaige reached out her good hand towards Tina's shoulder. "Okay, kid, you're starting to freak me-"

_CHOMP!_

"Yeeoow!" Gaige screamed as she yanked back her bleeding hand. Gaige stared at the blood in disbelief. "You bit me! What the hell- Ow!"

Gaige reared back as Tina lashed out again, catching Gaige square on the nose.

"Okay, that's it!" Gaige yelled, fed up. Before Tina could lash out again, Gaige reached out and grabbed her by the wrists. With a sharp jerk, Gaige pulled Tina forward until they were almost nose to nose. She brought Tina's wrists together and, moving quickly, grabbed both wrists in her mechanical hand. As Tina began to thrash again, Gaige reached up with her real hand and placed it on top of Tina's head. With some effort, she turned Tina's head until she was forced to look into Gaige's eyes, and held it there. "Tina, knock it off!"

All this did was make Tina redouble her efforts. Gaige was getting worried, and a little frightened herself. For the first time, she was able to clearly look into Tina's eyes, and what she saw scared her. The usually sharp blue eyes were wide and unfocused, like a wild animal, and filling with so much pure, unadulterated fear.

Gaige took a deep calming breath, more for herself then for Tina. "Tina, listen to me." She tried to make her voice as calm and as soothing as possible. Tina responded by slamming her eyes shut and trying to move her head, but Gaige held firm. "Tina, you're okay. I'm not going to hurt you. It's Gaige. Remember? Robo-lady?" Gaige laughed a little inside. It always annoyed her when Tina called her that, and now she was calling herself that. That little humor quickly died when Tina just tried to move again. "C'mon kid, you know me. You helped me install concussion claws on Deathtrap. You trained me to be Pandora's number one badass. Heck, you made me a character class in your B&amp;B game!"

Tina kept struggling. Gaige let out a frustrated growl. "Fine then! Let's try this!" With quick motions, Gaige completely let go of Tina. Suddenly free, with nothing to hold her in place, Tina fell forward. Before she could hit the ground, Gaige grabbed her by the shoulders. Just as Tina started to struggle again, Gaige, in one motion, flipped her around, and pulled the girl to her. She fell backwards into a sitting position, taking Tina with her. Before Tina could react, Gaige wrapped her legs around the girls waist and her arms around the girls chest, pinning Tina's legs to the ground and her arms to her sides. Finally, she pressed her chin to the top of Tina's head, and held on tight.

If Gaige had thought Tina was struggling before, this was a whole other animal. Tina was full on thrashing, her entire body moving in one massive convulsion. Gaige clenched her teeth as hard as she could to keep from biting her tongue_. That's it kid._ Gaige thought grimly. _Tire yourself out._

The whole time, Tina kept yelling. "No! No! Nonononononononono!"

Gaige had no idea how long it took. Five minutes? Ten? An hour? All she knew was how thankful she was when, after the most exhausting experience of her life, Tina's struggles started getting weaker. Her screaming faded into pathetic whimpers. She kept squirming for a few minutes more, before going completely still, her form trembling in exhaustion.

Gaige let out a relieved sigh, but kept herself wrapped around the teen, just in case she was playing possum. She felt liked she'd gone ten rounds with Terromorpheous, then tried to bench the BNK3R. "You… done?" She gasped out.

Silence was she her only answer.

"Tina?" She asked.

"ZZZzzz…"

Gaige pulled back and stared at the back of Tina's head. "You fell back asleep!? Ugh!" She fell back onto the garage floor, Tina coming with her, snoring lightly.

Gaige stared up at the ceiling, barely making out the various cracks and dents in the inky blackness. Her arms fell limply to her sides as Tina shifted slightly. Gaige frowned. _What is going on with this kid?_

After a minute or two, Gaige realized she had to do something. She couldn't just lie on the cold ground with Tina on top of her all night. In fact…

Gaige's frown deepened as her thoughts moved in a different direction. She hadn't thought much about it before, having spent all evening and most of the night in the tundra cold, but Tina's workshop was _freezing_! Maybe it had been warmer before Gaige opened the door, but right now, she might as well been laying in the dirt outside.

Gaige shook her head, frustrated. _Maybe I _shoulda_ had Lilith make this a mission_, she thought with a huff. That gave her another thought: _now what do I do?_

Lilith had just told her to check to see if Tina was okay. Well, that answer was a painful and resounding _no_. Should she call Lilith and tell her? Probably, but Lilith was already worried about Tina. How the heck would she react to _this?_ _Then what else should I do?_

Gaige laid there for a minute or two, thinking hard.

"…mmph..."

Gaige looked down at Tina, who had so far been content with using Gaige's chest as a pillow. The little blonde turned her head as a small whimper escaped her lips, a small frown on her face. Gaige's eyes gained a determined glint. Oh no, she was _not_ having a repeat of what just happened. She was nipping this in the bud _now._

"Tina." Gaige said, poking th girl in the cheek. Tina mumbled slightly, but kept sleeping. "Tina, wake up." Gaige repeated, poking harder. Tina grumbled, as if uncomfortable, but stayed down. Gaige sighed, then smirked. She gently grasped Tina's earlobe between two fingers…

And twisted.

"Ow!" Tina sat straight up, holding her sore ear in pain. "Ow ow ow OOOOWWW!"

Gaige chuckled slightly. "Are you actually awake this time?"

Tina twisted around on Gaige's stomach, looking down in surprise. "Robo-lady?" Gaige just barely resisted rolling her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Gaige pushed herself up on her elbows, Tina sliding down into her lap. The girl blinked, apparently just noticing that she was sitting on Gaige. After looking about the room, she also noticed that she was no longer on her bed.

"Um… what's going on? Did I mix up one of my root beers for one of Mordecai's again?"

Gaige blinked. Maybe… no, Rakk-ale was strong stuff, but there was no way it could make someone act this nutso, not even Tina. "Uh, I don't think so, kid."

"Oh… what?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, genuine confusion in her eyes.

Gaige stared up at her in disbelief. "Kid… you just about kicked the crap out of me!"

Tina tilted her head to the side. "Whaaaaa…?"

Gaige shook her head. "You… there's no way in hell you don't remember nothing. Kid, you bit me!"

Tina's eyes widened, before she burst out laughing. "Whaaaaat? Gurl, you crazy." She said, waving her hand in an exaggerated 'whatever' gesture, looking off to the side.

Gaige frowned, though no more from annoyance. "Uh, Tina?"

"Yessum?" Tina said, looking back at Gaige. She was greeted by Gaige's deadpan expression, in front of which was her only flesh hand. A clear set of teeth marks showed blatantly across the rather pale skin, blood still trickling down her arm.

Tina's smile faded after a few moments of silent staring. Her eyes seemed to dim slightly, the flippant, manic air that had surrounded her upon waking up (again) quickly fading.

"But… I didn't… do that." She said softly. She cleared her throat, before speaking in a lighter tone "I mean, why could I bite you, Mecha-Maid? I was asleep."

Gaige sighed. "Tina… you _were_ awake. You were yelling at me. You were crying!"

Tina shook her head like the child she was. "Nuh uh! I don't cry. Baby's cry. I ain't no baby."

Gaige stared at her for a moment, before taking a deep breath. The concern was plain in her voice. "Tina… you're crying right now."

Tina froze. Slowly, painfully slowly, she reached a hand up to her cheek. She touched her face gently. When she pulled her hand back, she could see her fingertips glisten, even in the faint light coming in through the doorway.

"I… uh… I… I got nothin'." She finally said, her voice surprisingly quiet.

Gaige looked at her. Within minutes, Tina'd gone from wild animal, to her usual crazy self, and now to just… sad. The faraway look she had was almost painful to see.

Gaige just looked at her for about a minute. Then she sighed. "Tina… I think we need to talk."

Tina looked back at her, surprised, almost dazed. Slowly she nodded her head. "Okay… sure."

Gaige nodded back. "Cool. But, um, can you do something for me first?"

Tina tilted her head to the side, ever so slightly. "What?"

"Could you please get off of me?"

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**A/n: So… what's it been, four, five months? Yeah, sorry. Summer kind of kicked my ass. I hope to have the last part of this up by the end of this month. That being said, if it gets to this time next month and this story still hasn't updated, somebody _please_ yell at me to hurry up. Sometime I need a kick in the pants to get moving.**

**I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see you at the next one.**


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